NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Pirates Lose Van Slyke for Six to Eight Weeks

Andy Van Slyke, the All-Star center fielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, suffered a broken right collarbone Monday night when he slammed into the wall during the Pirates’ 8-3 loss to the Cardinals at St. Louis.

Van Slyke is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks.

“We can’t lose him,� pitcher Denny Neagle said. “That’s the worst thing that can happen.�

Van Slyke, hitting .322, leads the Pirates with six home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Van Slyke suffered the injury chasing Erik Pappas’ first major league home run, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning.

Van Slyke got his glove on the ball, but it glanced off and went into a row of bushes beyond the wall. He was down on the warning track for several minutes.

“Andy plays in pain,� said Kent Biggerstaff, Pirate trainer. “But he was sore in a couple of places and you have to take what he says seriously.�

Gregg Jefferies also hit a two-run homer to rally Cardinals rallied from a two-run deficit.

Philadelphia 10, Montreal 3--Terry Mulholland improved to 9-1 lifetime against the Expos as the Phillies extended their season-best winning streak to six games at Montreal.

The Expos have lost seven of nine and dropped 12 1/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia in the National League East.

Mulholland (8-5) gave up eight hits, struck out four and walked three in 8 1/3 innings.

New York 7, Atlanta 4--Met rookie Doug Saunders had his second two-hit day in as many major league games and Bobby Bonilla drove in two runs as New York ended a six-game losing streak at Atlanta.

Saunders, who scored three runs, is four for nine in two games with the Mets since being called up from triple-A Norfolk on June 13.

Bonilla, who has 23 RBIs in his last 29 games, drove in Saunders in the first with a single and again with a double in the fifth.

Chicago 6, Florida 3--Jose Guzman drove in his first major league run and gave up three runs over six innings before leaving with a stiff lower back at Chicago as the Cubs ended the Marlins’ four-game winning streak.

Guzman (6-5) gave up seven hits, walked four and struck out one. Randy Myers, the fourth Chicago pitcher, worked the ninth for his 19th save.